Statistical Structure Of Quantum Theory

New ideas on the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, related to the theory of quantum measurement, as well as the emergence of quantum optics, quantum electronics and optical communications have shown that the statistical structure of quantum mechanics deserves special investigation. In the meantime it has become a mature subject. In this book, the author, himself a leading researcher in this field, surveys the basic principles and results of the theory, concentrating on mathematically precise formulations. Special attention is given to the measurement dynamics. The presentation is pragmatic, concentrating on the ideas and their motivation. For detailed proofs, the readers, researchers and graduate students, are referred to the extensively documented literature.

Quantum statistical inference, a research field with deep roots in the foundations of both quantum physics and mathematical statistics, has made remarkable progress since 1990. In particular, its asymptotic theory has been developed during this period. However, there has hitherto been no book covering this remarkable progress after 1990; the famous textbooks by Holevo and Helstrom deal only with research results in the earlier stage (1960s-1970s).This book presents the important and recent results of quantum statistical inference. It focuses on the asymptotic theory, which is one of the central issues of mathematical statistics and had not been investigated in quantum statistical inference until the early 1980s. It contains outstanding papers after Holevo's textbook, some of which are of great importance but are not available now.The reader is expected to have only elementary mathematical knowledge, and therefore much of the content will be accessible to graduate students as well as research workers in related fields. Introductions to quantum statistical inference have been specially written for the book. Asymptotic Theory of Quantum Statistical Inference: Selected Papers will give the reader a new insight into physics and statistical inference.

This book is devoted to aspects of the foundations of quantum mechanics in which probabilistic and statistical concepts play an essential role. The main part of the book concerns the quantitative statistical theory of quantum measurement, based on the notion of positive operator-valued measures. During the past years there has been substantial progress in this direction, stimulated to a great extent by new applications such as Quantum Optics, Quantum Communication and high-precision experiments. The questions of statistical interpretation, quantum symmetries, theory of canonical commutation relations and Gaussian states, uncertainty relations as well as new fundamental bounds concerning the accuracy of quantum measurements, are discussed in this book in an accessible yet rigorous way. Compared to the first edition, there is a new Supplement devoted to the hidden variable issue. Comments and the bibliography have also been extended and updated.

This concise and readable book addresses primarily readers with a background in classical statistical physics and introduces quantum mechanical notions as required. Conceived as a primer to bridge the gap between statistical physics and quantum information, it emphasizes concepts and thorough discussions of the fundamental notions and prepares the reader for deeper studies, not least through a selection of well chosen exercises.

This important work provides an account of the philosophical foundations of quantum theory that should become a classic text for scientists and nonscientists alike. Hughes offers the first detailed and accessible analysis of the Hilbert-space models used in quantum theory and explains why they are so successful. He goes on to show how the very suitability of Hilbert spaces for modeling the quantum world gives rise to deep problems of interpretation, and makes suggestions about how they can be overcome.

This book is devoted to aspects of the foundations of quantum mechanics in which probabilistic and statistical concepts play an essential role. The main part of the book concerns the quantitative statistical theory of quantum measurement, based on the notion of positive operator-valued measures. During the past years there has been substantial progress in this direction, stimulated to a great extent by new applications such as Quantum Optics, Quantum Communication and high-precision experiments. The questions of statistical interpretation, quantum symmetries, theory of canonical commutation relations and Gaussian states, uncertainty relations as well as new fundamental bounds concerning the accuracy of quantum measurements, are discussed in this book in an accessible yet rigorous way. Compared to the first edition, there is a new Supplement devoted to the hidden variable issue. Comments and the bibliography have also been extended and updated.

This is the first of two volumes presenting the theory of operator algebras with applications to quantum statistical mechanics. The authors' approach to the operator theory is to a large extent governed by the dictates of the physical applications. The book is self-contained and most proofs are presented in detail, which makes it a useful text for students with a knowledge of basic functional analysis. The introductory chapter surveys the history and justification of algebraic techniques in statistical physics and outlines the applications that have been made. The second edition contains new and improved results. The principal changes include: A more comprehensive discussion of dissipative operators and analytic elements; the positive resolution of the question of whether maximal orthogonal probability measure on the state space of C-algebra were automatically maximal along all the probability measures on the space.

This book provides a rapid overview of the basic methods and concepts in mechanics for beginning Ph.D. students and advanced undergraduates in applied mathematics or related fields. It is based on a graduate course given in 2006-07 at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Among other topics, the book introduces Newton's law, action principles, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, geometric wave theory, analytical and numerical statistical mechanics, discrete and continuous quantum mechanics, and quantum path-integral methods. The focus is on fundamental mathematical methods that provide connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. An example is Hamilton-Jacobi theory, which appears in the calculus of variations, in Fermat's principle of classical mechanics, and in the geometric theory of dispersive wavetrains. The material is developed in a sequence of simple examples and the book can be used in a one-semester class on classical, statistical, and quantum mechanics. Some familiarity with differential equations is required but otherwise the book is self-contained. In particular, no previous knowledge of physics is assumed. Titles in this series are co-published with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.

Quantum mechanics is our most successful physical theory. However, it raises conceptual issues that have perplexed physicists and philosophers of science for decades. This 2004 book develops an approach, based on the proposal that quantum theory is not a complete, final theory, but is in fact an emergent phenomenon arising from a deeper level of dynamics. The dynamics at this deeper level are taken to be an extension of classical dynamics to non-commuting matrix variables, with cyclic permutation inside a trace used as the basic calculational tool. With plausible assumptions, quantum theory is shown to emerge as the statistical thermodynamics of this underlying theory, with the canonical commutation/anticommutation relations derived from a generalized equipartition theorem. Brownian motion corrections to this thermodynamics are argued to lead to state vector reduction and to the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, making contact with phenomenological proposals for stochastic modifications to Schrödinger dynamics.